True Disciple

In the blink of an eye, more than half a year passed.

Li Gan's cultivation at Chenzhong Terrace was peaceful and serene.

After several years of living alone, he had long since gotten used to it and didn't feel lonely at all.

With the bell's help, his cultivation progressed smoothly, and he reached the Postnatal Realm Ninth Layer.

His comprehension of Heartless Sword Intent had slowed considerably. He had only gained a little over twenty progress points so far.

He discovered that the farther he progressed, the slower his comprehension of Heartless Sword Intent became.

At first, he could gain one point every seven days.

Now, it took nearly ten days to gain a single point.

One afternoon,

Li Gan had just finished cultivating when he heard someone call to him outside.

"Senior Brother Li."

He looked out of the Bell Tower and saw a young man.

"What can I do for you, Junior Brother?"

Li Gan asked.

"Senior Brother Li, I'm here on Hall Master Xu's orders from the Chore Hall. Someone claiming to have been sent by your family wishes to see you."

The young man hurriedly explained.

"I won't see him."

Li Gan's heart stirred. Could it be someone from the Li Family of Baibi City?

But he couldn't be bothered to meet them.

In his heart, he had already severed all ties with the Li Family of Baibi City.

He was merely a transmigrator from Earth in his previous life.

As for the family of this body, they had nothing to do with him.

Besides, his predecessor had left home to take the Divine Sword Sect's Entry Level test, intending to cut off all ties with his family.

"Understood, Senior Brother Li. I'll go back and report this."

The young man hurriedly said.

"Mm, go ahead."

Li Gan waved him away.

The Chore Hall.

A middle-aged man and several family servants waited anxiously.

He had been sent by Master Li Donglin and was the steward of Li Mansion.

After a long wait, footsteps finally sounded. Then someone walked in. "Steward Xu, I'm sorry, but Senior Brother Li of the Inner Sect doesn't wish to see you."

It was Xu Wei, the deputy hall master of the Chore Hall.

He was very polite.

Even if Li Gan didn't want to see his family, that was a matter between him and his family.

If Xu Wei slighted the visitors, he might offend an Inner Disciple.

"The young master doesn't want to see me?"

Steward Xu's expression changed.

He had come on Master's orders to see the young master. This was a matter of great importance.

He couldn't very well return without even seeing him, could he?

"Hall Master Xu, could you take me to the young master's place of cultivation? I really have something important to discuss with him."

Steward Xu hurriedly pleaded.

"Steward Xu, it's not that I don't want to take you there. The sect has its rules, and Senior Brother Li hasn't agreed. If I take you up the mountain without permission, I'm afraid it'll displease him."

Hall Master Xu shook his head.

Steward Xu knew that a great martial sect like this had strict rules. If he couldn't see the young master, how could he deliver the item into his hands?

He gritted his teeth and made a decision on the spot. "Hall Master Xu, how about this? I have something here that needs to be delivered to the young master. Could you send someone to take it to him?"

As he spoke, he took a half-foot-long wooden box from the bundle he carried.

A special lacquer seal was affixed to the box. Such seals were mainly used to secure precious items, and they showed whether the box had been opened.

A bureaucratic family like the Li Family of Baibi City naturally had its own lacquer seals, which outsiders could hardly imitate.

At the sight of the seal, Hall Master Xu realized the box must contain something valuable. That was only to be expected: anything sent to an Official Disciple of the Inner Sect was bound to be worth a great deal.

"Certainly."

Hall Master Xu nodded.

"Sorry to trouble you, Hall Master Xu."

As he spoke, Steward Xu discreetly slipped a gold banknote into Hall Master Xu's hand.

Hall Master Xu glanced at it but didn't refuse.

Atop the Bell Tower,

Li Gan sat cross-legged, with a Treasure Sword laid across a rack before him.

At that moment, he was using his Heartless Sword Intent to sense the sword.

This was a very special method of nurturing a sword:

using one's own sword intent to nourish a Treasure Sword.

His master, Zhou Buping, had taught him this method.

As the connection between his sword intent and the Treasure Sword deepened, his sword techniques would grow more powerful.

Given enough time, the Treasure Sword might even transform into a Divine Sword.

For a Xiantian Martial Artist of the Divine Sword Sect, nurturing a Divine Sword of one's own was the best outcome.

Vibrated!

As his sword intent connected with the Treasure Sword, the sword laid across the rack began to tremble faintly.

He hadn't used any Internal Qi.

The trembling was entirely the result of his sword intent nourishing the Treasure Sword.

Only after a long while did he let out a breath, feeling slightly drained.

Nurturing a sword took a great deal of mental energy.

Suddenly, he stood and looked toward the Bell Tower's entrance. Someone else had come up.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Li."

The visitor cupped his hands.

"Hall Master Xu, didn't I say I wouldn't see them?"

Li Gan said.

"Senior Brother Li, your family asked me to deliver this to you."

Hall Master Xu hurriedly replied.

Li Gan looked at the wooden box in Hall Master Xu's hands and furrowed his brow. In a flash, he swooped down before him and reached out to take it.

He remembered the lacquer seal from his predecessor's memories. It was unique to the Li Family of Baibi.

He tore the seal off and opened the box.

Inside were thick stacks of gold banknotes.

He estimated there were several thousand taels.

Within the Divine Sword Sect, people traded using Contribution Points. But outside the sect, gold and silver remained the main currency for measuring the value of cultivation resources.

One tael of gold was worth roughly a hundred taels of silver.

There was far more silver than gold in this world, so the exchange rate was nothing like it had been in his previous life.

Several thousand taels of gold was no small sum.

It would probably take the Li Family of Baibi City a hefty sacrifice to hand over that much.

They're willing to dig into their family fortune to support my martial cultivation? Heh. Too bad I don't need any of this for my cultivation now.

Li Gan sneered inwardly.

The daily cultivation resources provided by the Divine Sword Sect, along with the support from his master, Zhou Buping, were already enough to meet his needs.

The help he received from Chen Bell during cultivation was simply too great.

"I'll keep it."

Li Gan said indifferently.

"Senior Brother Li, I'll take my leave."

Hall Master Xu said at once.

The Chore Hall.

When Steward Xu heard that the young master, Li Gan, had accepted the box, he let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Although he regretted not seeing the young master in person, the fact that he had accepted the gift meant he still cared about his family.

Now he needed to hurry back to Baibi City and report to Master as soon as possible.

The gold banknotes sent by the Li Family of Baibi City had no effect on Li Gan.

He even placed them all in a hidden cellar reserved for storing valuables.

He continued cultivating as usual.

Another month passed.

The Inner Sect, Divine Sword Hall.

The Peak Masters and power-holding elders from the Seven Main Peaks had gathered together.

"Old Ghost Zhou, you usually stay in Yanmen Valley and rarely show your face. What brings you to the meeting today? Don't you always ignore the sect's affairs?"

A chubby old man asked curiously.

"This time is different."

Zhou Buping chuckled.

"How is it different? Isn't this True Disciple Selection? You don't even have a disciple."

The chubby old man laughed.

In the Divine Sword Sect, Zhou Buping had the strangest temperament and was the least sociable.

"Who says I don't have a disciple?"

Zhou Buping snorted.

"Fatty He, you're behind the times. Old Ghost Zhou took on a disciple over a year ago."

Someone nearby laughed.

"Ah, he took on a disciple? Well, that's a rare sight!"

The chubby old man exclaimed.

"The number of True Disciple positions to be filled this time has been tentatively set at one. Submit the names of those taking part in the True Disciple Selection."

The Divine Sword Sect's Sect Leader sat at the head of the table. He only glanced at Zhou Buping before speaking.

"Sect Leader, why only one? Didn't two True Disciples become elders recently? Shouldn't we select two?"

The chubby old man couldn't help asking.

"The Seven Peaks' Peak Masters and I discussed it and came to this decision. If we offer two True Disciple positions at once, it wouldn't be fair to the outstanding disciples who aren't yet eligible to take part in the selection."

The Divine Sword Sect Master shook his head.

The number of True Disciples in the Divine Sword Sect was more or less fixed, and only the very best were selected.

"One? Tsk, the competition's going to be fierce."

Someone shook their head.

There were strict age limits for becoming a True Disciple, and selections were usually held only once every few years.

If someone failed to make the cut this time, they would basically never get another chance.